The Bachelor
by Flashchimp
Summary: Tea couldn't believe what had happened to her. Her vacation had effectively turned into a nightmare because she had agreed to do a favor. Now she was a contestant on Domino's very first Bachelor show. Worst of all, the bachelor was Seto Kaiba. How could she win his heart when her true desire was to wring his neck?
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Hi guys, welcome to a new story written by yours truly. I have been absent from for a while now and honestly, I had given up on writing. But recently, I felt the need to write again. Hopefully, I'm not too rusty from the long pause.

This story is my attempt at humor. I fancy myself a drama/angst/romance writer. I have said in the past that humor is not my strength but I love a challenge and that's why I will try to make this story humorous. Key word is 'try'.

I am aware that there is another Yugioh "Bachelor" story available on by Padewan CarrCarr. It's called "The Bachelor Kaiba Style". I have already communicated with Padewan CarrCarr and have obtained her consent to write this story. I know that my story will be somewhat similar to hers as the basic idea is the same. But I hope to make mine different so that Padewan CarrCarr doesn't feel like I have plagiarized her work. If any of you feel like my work is very similar to hers, please inform me so I can make amends. But I will try my very best to write an original story.

I will also appreciate constructive feedback and comments, and any ideas you have about the story e.g. any date ideas that can be used in the story. Though I already have most of the story figured out and outlined, I am open to incorporating your ideas if they are interesting. With that, I hope you enjoy this story.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or The Bachelor or anything even remotely similar to either.

"Talk"

'Thoughts'

_Flachback/Dream_

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Tea glanced around the small cafe, enjoying the peace and quiet. The place was empty at this time of the day. No other customer, besides her, was present. She guessed people in Domino weren't as obsessed with coffee or caffeinated beverages as the people in New York. There, the time of the day or year didn't matter. Everyone needed their caffeine fix and every coffee shop in the city was always bustling with customers. But here in Domino, in the middle of the day, the small cafe was empty, almost lonely. She was the only one sitting in a corner, sipping her hot coffee, feeding her caffeine addiction. It was a habit she had picked up from her fellow New Yorkers after living there for nearly six years.

The servers were idly standing and talking to each other behind the counter. Occasionally, one would look her way but turn away quickly. She wondered if they recognized her from a poster, but that was not possible. She wasn't a big star.

'At least not amongst the common folk of Domino.' She hid a smile behind her coffee cup. Ballet was the past-time of the rich and snobby, as her friend liked to say. And Tea agreed whole-heartedly. After having attended dozens of after-parties, she was well aware of her fanbase, their ages, and bank accounts.

Taking another sip of her drink, she sighed in content, enjoying her last few minutes of silence before she was to be thrust into the chaos that was her friends company. She was supposed to meet Joey. Tristan, and Yugi at the Game Shop in a few minutes. She suppressed a smile as she thought about them. The passing of years hadn't affected them at all, at least not their maturity. They were still as rowdy and childish as they were back in high school. Even though they were all in their mid twenties, college graduates, and working members of the society, they were still as boisterous and, at times, immature as ever.

But that was she loved about them the most, the fact that they seemed untouched by the passage of time. When with them, she could forget that she was living alone in New York, away from her parents, away from her friends, away from everything that was her life for eighteen years. She could forget that she was about to start the last year of her contract with her company, and that already, she was being tugged and pulled in all directions by different dance companies about her future. She could forget the jealousy other dancers felt at her success, and the jealousy and fear she felt at theirs.

With Joey, Tristan, and Yugi, things were simpler, pure, and true. That's why she had decided to spend her two months off with them in Domino, instead of visiting her parents. She was glad they had understood her need, and hadn't made her feel guilty. Then again, she hadn't seen her friends in almost a years. Hell, she hadn't been in Domino in almost four years. Her parents had moved out of Domino when she had moved to New York, and the guys came to her because they could afford it, and because they wanted to travel and go sightseeing. Thus she never had a chance to go to Domino, but she had missed her childhood home. So when she expressed her desire to her parents, they had understood and had come to visit her in New York before she left. . She was lucky to have amazing parents and friends.

Her musings were interrupted by the sound of the bell above the door ringing. Someone had entered the cafe. Curiosity got the best of her and she peeked from her secluded corner to see who was in need of a hot beverage on a warm summer day. It was a relatively tall male, with unruly black hair. Despite the shaggy locks, he looked quite sophisticated. She figured it was because of his obviously expensive clothes. He glanced around the cafe after placing his order and his eyes met hers, purple with blue. Both set of eyes narrowed in confusion before widening in recognition.

"Tea." He said in a surprised voice and quickly walked towards her.

"Mokuba?" Her tone was questioning, as if she couldn't believe this tall, handsome young man was the same boy she had said farewell to when she had left Domino.

"Of course." He laughed. "Who else can look this sexy wearing ordinary clothes?" Tea was baffled at his comment. Nope, this was definitely not the small boy she had left in Domino. Then again, she had been away for six years and she had barely kept in touch with him, let alone see him. He had to grow up and change in her absence.

"Sorry, I just didn't believe it was you for a second." She replied sheepishly and he let out another chuckle.

"No problem. We haven't seen each other in a very long time. And I got a haircut." He winked, running a hand through his hair. She let out a small laugh.

"Yes. That's why I didn't recognize you. Last time I saw you, which was years ago, you still had your long hair. What happened?" He sighed dramatically.

"Seto happened." His said with a pout, eliciting another small laugh from her. She remembered the older Kaiba frowning at his brother's unruly locks.

"He kept badgering me to get a haircut. He insisted that I didn't look professional, even with a ponytail."

"Oh what does her know about looking professional?" Tea said cheekily and Mokuba smirked.

"Exactly." He wanted to continue talking but was interrupted by the server who informed him his coffee was ready to pick up. He excused himself to grab the cup but quickly came towards her again, taking a seat opposite her.

"When did you get here? I didn't hear anything from Yugi or Joey."

"Just got here three days ago." She replied. "I was jet-lagged for two days and the guys didn't tell anyone so I could recover and be myself before meeting everyone."

"You mean they kept you all to themselves." Mokuba teased. "You look fine now and yet, if I hadn't seen you by chance, I wouldn't have known about you. Those selfish friends of yours want to deprive the rest of us of the pleasures of your company."

"When did you become such a flirt?" She said with a smirk.

"Right after I realized it was easier and more fun to get laid by flirting than by flashing money." He replied.

"Mokuba." She said in a scandalous tone but dissolved into fits of giggles soon. "I bet your brother is really happy with your behavior. It's a lot more professional now."

"He's jealous because I get more than him." Mokuba replied without missing a beat. "But then again, I bet even ghosts get more than him."

"Seriously, what happened to the innocent kid I liked so much?" She demanded good naturedly.

"He turned into a man you can love." He finished with a comical wiggle of his eyebrows, causing Tea to laugh again.

"I bet you are a real heartbreaker." She knew it was true. He was a charmer. She could see girls falling for him.

"You're not too bad yourself." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh stop with the generous compliments. You're inflating my ego." She said very sarcastically and he smirked.

"How long are you here for?" He asked casually.

"I have two months off so I'm here for the duration. Then I'm off to New York again."

"Two months." Mokuba seemed thoughtful.

"What are you up to these days?" She asked.

"Besides breaking hearts?" He asked innocently. "I'm at Kaiba Corp. Seto's got me working like a dog." He complained. "He's a workaholic and he assumed that just because I'm related to him, I must have the same disease as him. He doesn't understand the concept of fun or relaxation."

"I guess Kaiba hasn't changed either." She said, more to herself. She could just picture him, with his dramatic trench coat, steel brief case in hand and a steely look in his eyes, staring down everything and everyone. It brought a nostalgic smile to her face. Coming to Domino really felt like travelling back in time.

"Not one bit." Mokuba replied. "But I'm working on that. I've got a plan to infuse fun in his life."

"Plan? What kind of plan?" Tea asked curiously but cautiously. This older Mokuba was far from innocent, and she felt that this "plan" would be as devious as him.

"Don't worry. It's nothing harmful."Mokuba assured her. "He is still my brother and I love him. I'm only doing this because I'm worried about him. He needs to take a break or I'm afraid he will negatively affect his health. Already the doctors are telling him to relax or he will develop blood pressure and heart issues." Tea shot Mokuba a sympathetic smile.

"In that case, I support you a hundred percent."

"Really?" Mokuba said.

"Really." Tea repeated back childishly. "Kaiba is undoubtedly a strong and independent man, but everyone needs someone else to lean on every now and then. It doesn't diminish their strength or make them weak. Instead, it makes them stronger. Your brother needs to realize that, and I'm glad he has you to make sure he sees this." Mokuba nodded.

"Yes, yes, of course. That's exactly what I want. And I'm very thankful of your support."

"I'm here to help you if you need me." Tea offered him. "Well, for the two months that I'm here, I'll help you in any way I can."

"That means a lot. Thanks." Mokuba said in a grateful tone.

"Good." She said with a tone of finality, signaling the end of their conversation. She really should get going. The guys would be wondering where she was. She should have been at the Game Shop ten minutes ago. A few more minutes and Joey and Tristan would start cooking up crazy theories of her abduction and they would go into over-protective hero mode.

"I have to go meet the guys now but I'll see you around." She said. "Good luck with your plan." She began walking towards the door when Mokuba called out to her. She turned to see him hurriedly walking towards her.

"Something the matter?" She asked.

"No." He quickly replied. "I mean, nothing is wrong. I just had an idea and I wanted to talk to you about it." She was even more confused but Mokuba began walking with her outside.

"You said you would help me." He repeated her words from a few minutes ago and she nodded her head, slightly worried at what he might be planning to ask.

"Can I ask you a huge favor?" He said in a pleading tone. She paused, causing him to stop walking as well.

"What kind of favor?" She asked suspiciously.

"A small kind."

"I don't believe you." She said flatly and he blushed in embarrassment.

"Okay, fine. It's not a small favor. It's huge to me but it might be small for you."

"What do you want Mokuba?" She sighed.

"I'm doing a small project to test the waters of the showbiz industry, and since you are a part of that industry, I would really appreciate your help."

"Showbiz?" She said in a completely surprised voice.

"Yes. Kaiba Corp. provides a lot of equipment used in the showbiz industry. We even provide the equipment and software for the amazing graphics used in Hollywood movies. But I want to try a different venture. I am producing a show for Domino."

"What kind of show? And what do you need me for? I'm a ballet dancer. I do live shows. I don't really have experience for the kind of show you plan on doing."

"You don't even know what kind of show I'm producing." He pointed out. "If you don't want to help, you can just say so. Don't beat around the bush. Just say it that when you offered me your help, it was just symbolic. You weren't serious about your offer because you didn't actually expect me to ask for anything." Tea winced at his words.

"No, that's not true." She said. "I did mean it when I said I will help you."

"Then help me." He said. "I promise you no harm will come to you. You will be taken care of like a celebrity."

"What would I have to do?" She asked.

"Nothing at all." He assured her. "You'll just have to be yourself and spend a little time on the project I'm working on. Nothing else. I'll send you the detailed instructions by email tonight." He quickly said and began marching away.

"Mokuba wait." She called out but he had started jogging now. She couldn't help but think he was running away from her and her questions. As she watched him literally break into a run and turn the corner, she knew it was official. She had trapped herself in some weird scheme by Mokuba. At least she knew him and where he lived. If he was planning on tricking her or embarrassing her in any way, she would sick her friends on him. That thought brought a laugh out of her, and suddenly remembering that she was even more late now to see them, she too, broke into a run.

'Hold on guys. I'm not trapped with a psycho, at least not yet.'

* * *

Tea suspiciously gazed at the rapidly passing landscape from the window of the speeding limo. Where was this mansion Mokuba had told her about? Three days ago, she had her meeting with Mokuba in the cafe and that same evening, Mokuba had sent her an email, as promised, with as little information as possible, as she had feared. She had spent two hours with her friends, trying to figure out what Mokuba was planning.

Flashback

_"That's it?" Tristan said over her shoulder as he finished reading the email along with the others for the third time._

_"That can't be it." Joey said. "There's got to be more information than that. He isn't saying anything at all."_

_"I know." Tea sighed in frustration. "I had a feeling this would happen. I somehow knew he won't tell me anything solid. He was avoiding it when we were talking face-to-face. I knew right there and then that I wouldn't like what he was planning." The guys frowned in suspicion. So far, the promised email had just told her that she would be going to a mansion for approximately three weeks. The mansion was far from the city and transportation would be limited so she was advised to bring plenty of necessary items. She was also advised to bring casual to formal clothes as she might be required to dress up for some events. She needn't worry about money. Any item that needed purchasing would be taken care of by the producer i.e. Mokuba. She would be allowed contact with her friends and family but it will be limited compared to her normal routine. That's it. The email was as vague as it could be and didn't provide any useful information to her. She still had no idea what she was supposed to do, or what Mokuba wanted from her. At the end of the email, Mokuba had again expressed his profuse gratitude at her help._

_"Sounds like you are going on some kind of retreat." Yugi said. "Grandpa went on something like that last year. He went to the Himalayas to visit some temples, and to meditate with the monks. He got similar instructions, to pack properly and be prepared for lack of communication with the outside world."_

_"But why would Mokuba want me to go on a retreat?" Tea wondered. "He said he was producing a TV show."_

_"Maybe it's a reality show." Tristan suggested._

_"Yeah. Some kind of competition." Joey agreed. "Don't you have shows like that in USA?" Tea frowned as she thought of a few that might fit the description._

_"Yeah. But those shows require physical challenges and there is a big monetary prize at the end. Mokuba didn't mention anything like that."_

_"I don't think Mokuba would trick you into that kind of situation." Yugi assured her._

_"Not unless he's got a sick sense of humor." Tristan supplied._

_"Which he might, considering he is Kaiba's brother." Joey said. "All those years with that evil maniac has changed him. He isn't the same innocent kid anymore. Now you hear stories about him that prove that he is a Kaiba."_

_"What do you mean? What kind of stories?" Tea asked worriedly._

_"Nothing serious. Joey is just exaggerating." Tristan assured her but she still looked worried._

_"Mokuba is a bit of a trouble-maker." Yugi explained. "He has a reputation of being manipulative and clever. But he has never done anything serious or against the law. Just small things to gain small favors."_

_"He's more interested in helping himself than anyone else." Joey said plainly. "I bet this scheme is the same. He isn't telling you everything because he knows if he told you the truth, you won't agree."_

_"Stop freaking her out man." Tristan growled at Joey, watching Tea worriedly bite her lip._

_"I'm sure it's nothing horrible." Yugi again assured her. "Mokuba might have changed a bit but he's still a good person at heart. We have dealt with him all these years and he has always been very nice and honest with us. Even Joey can't deny that." Joey grumbled some words under his breath until Tristan cuffed him, at which point both boys engaged in a small fight, rolling on the floor like children. Tea smiled at their antics._

_"Just like old times." Yugi said with a shake of his head and Tea laughed._

_"Yup."_

_"When are you supposed to leave, and for how long?" He asked._

_"I'm leaving in three days. A car will pick me up from the address I forward to them. Then I'll be taken to the mansion where I will stay for approximately three weeks."_

_"That's half of your vacation." Yugi pointed out in a disappointed tone._

_"I know. If I knew, I never would have agreed to it, but he manipulated me into it. I'm going to watch out for him in the future."_

_"Well, three weeks would pass soon and you will be back here and we can do all the things we planned on doing." Yugi said with a smile and she smiled back._

End flashback

The limo had long passed the city limits of Domino. The landscape now consisted of a lot of trees and vegetation, kind of like a small forest, which looked uninviting in the fading light of the setting sun.

'Great. A mansion in the middle of nowhere.' She thought miserably. 'I feel like a character from a horror movie, about to enter a secluded house haunted by an angry ghost. I hope I come out alive out of this.'

The limo turned and she stared out the window again. This time, she could see a huge mansion appearing at the end of the road. As they neared, she noticed that the area surrounding the mansion was very well kept. Perfectly trimmed hedges lined the border on all sides. The limo came to a gate and after a pause of a few seconds, the gate opened by itself.

'Mechanical.' She concluded. Was there someone inside the mansion?

The limo continued on down a long driveway, lined on either side by lush green grass, interspersed with flower beds, ornately-shaped hedges, even some small fountains. Whoever owned the mansion was rich.

The limo finally came to a stop and the drive came out to open the door for her. She took a deep breath before exiting. She stood before magnificent wooden doors carved with beautiful patterns.

"Your luggage madam." The driver said, placing her suitcase beside her.

"Thanks." She smiled gratefully at him. He tipped his hat to her and then went to the limo, ready to drive away. She watched as the limo drove away and out of sight, leaving her no other choice but to enter the mansion. With a defeated sigh, she grabbed the door handle and pushed. Surprisingly, the door opened with ease.

'Not creepy at all.' She thought and entered, dragging her suitcase behind her. At least the inside was nicely lit. She closed the door behind her and glanced around to take in her surroundings.

'Got to know the escape routes in case a psycho comes wielding a weapon.' She thought amusedly. She was in the foyer. There was a beautiful sofa placed on one corner along with a table. Next to it was a door-shaped opening which led to the inside of the mansion. On the other side, there was a set of doors, but Tea guessed it was a closet. This foyer was more like a waiting room for guests to await permission to enter the mansion.

'Can't believe people do that.' She thought. Well, no one was going to invite her in so she might as well go herself. She began walking towards the entrance to the mansion. As she neared it, she heard voices, many voices. There were other people in the house. She quickened her steps and was soon standing at the entrance of a lavish living room, right out of a fairy tale, grand staircase, chandelier and all the works. Words could not describe the beauty or the extravagance of the sight before her. But her attention was more focused on a group of girls sitting in the living room, all excitedly talking amongst themselves. Only girls, she noticed. On her left, near the grand stair case, she saw many suitcases, probably belonging to the girls already there. Shrugging her shoulders, she placed hers there as well. Her actions had finally caught the attention of the other girls who turned to look at her.

"So you're the final contestant. Hi." One girl said, standing up to greet her. She had beautiful red hair in a side-swept ponytail.

"Contestant?" Tea repeated with a sinking feeling in her heart. So this was some sort of competition. Oh she was going to kill Mokuba when she saw him.

"Yes. Come on, join us. All of us are here now." The girl said. Wordlessly, Tea walked towards them, glancing around to see everyone. Her eyes landed on a familiar face and she mirrored the shocked look.

"Serenity?"

"Tea?" The younger girl whispered back, equally shocked, but with a tone of panic.

"What are you doing here? What is going on?" Tea demanded.

"What are you doing here?" Serenity asked in a shaking voice.

"Mokuba asked me to be here as a favor, a favor I'm coming to regret ever agreeing to."

"He... did?" Serenity again whispered, her face becoming pale.

"What is going on here? What kind of contest is this?" She demanded again.

"It's Domino's very first 'Bachelor' show." One girl squealed.

"WHAT?" Tea screamed. "Bachelor? I'm on the Bachelor?" She couldn't believe it. She knew the American version of the show but had always scoffed at it. But here she was, as a contestant. Mokuba would pay dearly.

"Unbelievable." She muttered.

"I know, isn't it?" Another girl sighed dreamily. "I'm so blessed that I was one of the chosen ones. The casting call went out to very specific girls and all of us here were personally selected by the producer." Before Tea could speak more, the giant TV screen mounted on the wall flared to life, revealing Mokuba's face.

"Hello ladies. Welcome to Domino's first ever Bachelor. Congratulations on making it here." His face held a superior, in-control look as he spoke. "You were all selected because you are the best of your profession, crème de la crème. You possess intelligence and beauty, both of which you will need to win the heart of the bachelor." Before he could continue speaking, he was interrupted by a fuming Tea.

"Mokuba Kaiba." She growled, standing in front of the screen. Mokuba's expression finally changed and showed a sheepish expression.

"I can't believe you did this to me." She fumed. "You blatantly lied to me."

"No." He denied immediately. "I didn't. I didn't tell you the full truth but I didn't lie."

"You didn't tell me anything." She pointed out. "The bachelor?" She repeated in outage. "Joey was right. You have become selfish and manipulative. You tricked me. I shouldn't have trusted you." Mokuba actually looked guilty at that.

"You're not the bachelor, are you? Because if you are, you are going to lose your favorite body part." She threatened with narrowed eyes. Mokuba let out an uncomfortable laugh at that and shook his head.

"No. I'm not him." He assured her.

"Good. Then you get to live harm free until I find you, which will be very soon."

"Tea, please, listen to me." Mokuba begged. "I can explain everything." Tea glared at him for a few moments before crossing her arms.

"Fine. Explain."

"Can you go to the confession room? I'd rather we speak in private." He said, eyeing the other girls who had watched the entire debacle with baffled expressions.

"Where is that?" She asked.

"Go down the hallway besides the staircase. It's the 4th door to your right. I'll see you there." His face disappeared from the screen and Tea turned to go to the 'confession room'. The 'confession room' turned out to be a small room with a couch and a table facing a medium sized TV screen. Mokuba's worried face was already there when she entered.

"I can explain everything." He repeated his earlier statement. Tea sat on the couch and glared at him to begin.

"I didn't lie when I said that I had a plan to help Seto, or that I needed your help. This entire project isn't just my attempt at testing the waters of the showbiz industry. I'm trying to help Seto with this."

"You mean he is the bachelor?" Tea asked with wide eyes. Mokuba nodded his head. If Tea wasn't a contestant already, she would have laughed at Kaiba's misfortune. But as it was, she was one of his suitors, here to fight for his affections. Her own situation was worse than his.

"You have lost your mind. What makes you think this will help him?" Tea asked. "You can't seriously believe that he is going to find true love from this show, especially if he is being forced to be here."

"You're right. I don't expect him to find true love and marry and live happily ever after from this show." Mokuba admitted. "But I am forcing him to interact with others. Tea, you don't see him every day like I do. He... he's gotten worse." Mokuba said in a tired voice. "His whole life has been work, work, and work. Even now, when he is at the top, it's still all about work. He just breathes, sleeps, and works, nothing else, not even dueling. He has given up on that too." That was news to her. Was Kaiba really that bad?

"It's always been just me and him, and I'm fine with that. But I can't be with him for the rest of my life." Mokuba said with frustration. "I want to travel. I want to try new things but I feel trapped here because I'm tethered to him. If I leave, then there is no one to take care of him, no one to even speak to him. I can't have that. That's why I forced him to be here. I want him to spend time with others to make him realize that he can have someone else other than me in his life. I hope that somewhere along the way, he learns that he can enjoy other peoples company and feels the needs for human contact. At the very least, he realizes that having another person in his life won't be harmful to him." Tea rubbed the bridge of her nose in irritation at his explanation. She could see his point but that didn't explain her presence.

"Why me?" She asked. "Why did you trick me into coming here?"

"Because I need your help." He said. "All the girls out there were handpicked by me personally. They represent all the different kinds of girls that I think might be good for Seto, and are all strong and successful. Only the best for my brother." He said with a smile that Tea didn't reciprocate. "But I also wanted someone from Seto's past, someone he was familiar with. I knew that Seto will be angry to be forced into this situation. He hates being in unfamiliar situations. But if I included someone from his past, someone he knew, it would give him a feel of familiarity and control. That's why I had initially chosen Serenity. She was the best I could find. But when I saw you, I knew you were the perfect fit. You have known Seto for years. You know him better than anyone else out there, besides me of course. I knew you would be able to understand him and his actions, and maybe help him understand all this too."

"That's all fine and dandy." Tea said sarcastically. "But you're forgetting that your brother and I don't get along. We tolerate each other and that's the extent of our relationship. I haven't seen or talked to him in nearly six years. What makes you think he will be glad to see me? For all you know, he could eliminate me first out of spite."

"He won't." Mokuba assured her. "Not unless you intentionally provoke him. Like I said, you will be his link to familiarity. He will want to keep you around, at least long enough to gain control over the house."

"So glad to be of use to you brothers." Tea said.

"I'm truly sorry that I tricked you into coming here, but I was desperate. I still am desperate for your help." Mokuba said truthfully. Tea remained silent for a few moments before sighing in defeat.

"Fine. I'll see what I can do." Mokuba yelled out a celebratory 'yes' at her response. "I can't promise anything. I'm still angry at you for this. And if Kaiba gets on my nerves and this whole thing seems like it's not worth the effort, I will leave."

"Of course." Mokuba readily agreed, just glad that she had agreed to stay. "Thank you so much Tea. I'm truly grateful to you."

"This doesn't mean you won't pay for tricking me. I will get you for this." Tea promised him and he chuckled in response.

"I'll take whatever punishment you dish out. For now, you can go back to the living room. I'll explain the rest of the rules of the competition." With that said, the screen went dark and Tea left the 'confession room' to join the other girls. They were all whispering to each other but when she entered, they quickly became silent and stared at her. She pointedly ignored them and took a seat on a couch. Mokuba's face re-appeared on the giant screen and he smiled charmingly.

"I apologize for keeping you ladies waiting. I will continue with the explanation of the rules of the competition. The competition will consist of various challenges, none of which will be physically taxing I assure you. The challenges will be more like dates with the bachelor, giving you the opportunity to get to know each other and impress each other. At the end of each challenge, the bachelor will select one girl whom he does not see a potential future with, sending her home. The eliminated girl will be required to leave the mansion that same night. On elimination nights, I ask that you pack away most of your stuff so you do not take long to depart. A limo will be waiting for you at the door and it will take you to the address you provide." He paused here, allowing the girls to soak in the information, before speaking again.

"For the duration of the competition, you will be living together and sharing bedrooms. There are five bedrooms upstairs, meaning two of you will share a bedroom. You are free to roam around the mansion and get familiar with the many amenities and luxuries at your disposal. Use whatever pleases you. You, along with the bachelor, will be the only people in the mansion. Cameras have been set up at every possible location to capture all the action in the mansion. You will be informed of the challenges either via envelopes placed outside your bedrooms or through this TV screen by yours truly." He flashed them a charming smile which was returned by every girl, except Tea.

"The 'confession room' is where you can go, either individually or in groups, to voice your inner thoughts for our audience. As you are already aware, communication with the outside world will be limited. You will be allowed one phone call at the end of each elimination challenge. But keep in mind that the phone call will take place inside the 'confession room' and will be video and audio recorded." Tea muttered something under her breath but the girls were too engrossed in Mokuba's talk that they didn't hear her.

"Now without further ado, I introduce to you the man whose heart you are here to win, the bachelor, Seto Kaiba."

All around her, the girls squealed and bounced excitedly, but Tea ignored them. She lifted her face upward, as if praying, and thought very sarcastically. 'Lightening, strike me now.' Nothing happened. Typical. One never got what he or she wanted, even if it was death.

She slightly turned her head and peeked between the standing girls to see Seto Kaiba saunter down the stairs, his trademark scowl ever-present on his face. She burrowed further into the couch, hoping he didn't see her. She would die, metaphorically of course, if he saw her amongst his fangirls. She saw him roam his eyes over the gathered girls. She quickly crouched on the floor, hoping to escape his gaze. He was at the bottom of the stairs now and walking towards them. If she crawled behind the couches, she could circle the living room and get to the staircase. Then she could just go upstairs and hide in a bedroom. Until when? Until she figured out how to face him and deal with this situation.

Deciding upon that plan of action, she began crawling slowly away from the standing crowd of girls and the incoming Kaiba. She was almost there. She turned sideways to go behind the couch when she heard his voice.

"Gardner?"

'God please, lightening strike, NOW.' She begged.

Nothing again.

Crap.

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Thanks for reading. I hope you liked this chapter. Next chapter will have more of Seto Kaiba, and information on the other girls.

Review and let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or The Bachelor

"Talk"

'Thoughts'

_Dreams/Flashback_

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He could not believe he was doing this. Even as he descended down the stairs to the awaiting throng of his fangirls, he was still having a hard time believing that he was doing this. He was _actually_ doing this.

Mokuba would pay dearly.

He should have known _it_ would come to bite him in the ass later. He should have taken better measures to dispose of it. But he hadn't considered it a great threat. No, not at all. It was insignificant. It was pathetic. It was useless.

But Mokuba had found out. He had discovered it purely by accident and now here he was, forced into this 'experiment' as Mokuba called it. His own brother had blackmailed him to agree to a series of humiliating episodes, all being captured to be broadcasted to the world later.

Mokuba would pay. He would make sure of it.

The always-present scowl on his face deepened as he neared the circle of his fangirls, the potential love interests selected by Mokuba.

'As if I trust him after this stunt.' He sneered. His brother was a friend to no one. He probably selected the craziest group of girls he could find in order to boost ratings. After all, people loved to watch idiots make a bigger fool of themselves. Unfortunately for him, he was stuck in the middle of this group of buffoons, forced to interact with them.

A shudder went through his body at that thought. God, he had to deal with these girls. He had to talk to them, to listen to them, to spend time with them, and to get to know them. He had gathered information on the American version of this show before entering the mansion. He was appalled at the behaviour of the participants. He hoped the girls here didn't expect him to have pool side conversations and shove his tongue down as many throats as he could. He would rather hang himself with his tie. Better yet, if he survived this ordeal, he would hang Mokuba with a tie. He frowned as he gave it more thought. No, he would come up with a more creative and painful punishment for his dear brother. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you looked at it, he had plenty of time to think of creative murder attempts.

He was almost at the bottom of the grand staircase. He had walked extra slowly, delaying the inevitable for as long as he could. Plus, it made him look calm, relaxed, and in control. He casually glanced at the group of gathered girls. He would soon have them under his control, eating out of his hands, not that they won't like it. As he surveyed the crowd, he counted nine squealing and giggling heads. Mokuba had told him there would be ten contestants. Was someone late, or had she cancelled at the last minute and a replacement couldn't be arranged? He shrugged his shoulders. Who cared? This meant he had one less fan to deal with.

He continued to study them and noticed that they were all the same. An attractive face on an attractive body. He hoped Mokuba hadn't selected them solely on their looks.

He finally reached the living room and approached them. They began shifting excitedly and he wondered how long before one of them tackled him in excitement. They seemed to be pushing to be in the middle and close to him. Some were more aggressive than others. He made a note of them. A few were standing shyly, shifting nervously. Those would be an easy target. Suddenly, his eyes caught a glimpse of something moving on the floor behind the girls, away from them. He craned his neck up to have a better look and was surprised to see a girl crawling on the floor towards the couches. Before he could be further confused and call her out, she turned to move behind the couch and he saw her face.

No way.

"Gardner?" It came out as a question because there was no way in hell she was here. There was no way in hell she would be here or could be here. She was in USA, living her dream of dancing from what he had heard from Mokuba. And she barely tolerated him. She was not here. That was not her.

At his call, the girl stopped. He saw her stiffen visibly and then stand up, her back to him. After a dramatic pause during which the other girls also turned to stare at the mystery girl, she turned. He was shocked. It was her. She was actually here.

"Hello Kaiba." She said as casually as she could, as if this was a completely normal meeting, as if she didn't stand as one of his fangirls, as his suitor. A lesser man would have his jaw on the floor. But Seto Kaiba was not a lesser man. He was a man of utmost control. So even as his mind exploded from confusion and shock, his face remained calm.

"Hello indeed." He replied with a smirk. He saw her expression turn to annoyance. Just like old times. He wondered if she still got as riled up as she did in the past, and as quickly too.

"Isn't this a pleasant surprise. Didn't know you were a fan." He said in a mocking tone and moved around the girls to stand in front of Tea.

"I'm not, so don't get any ideas." She replied with a glare.

"I beg to disagree." He said in a charming tone. "Your presence here, among the throng of my fans, fighting for my affections and attention, all for a chance to be recognized and loved by me says you are more than just a fan."

"Please." She snorted derisively. "I have had more than enough of your attention to last me ten lifetimes and I don't particularly care for it. As for your affections and love," she laughed openly. "I'd rather make out with a monkey."

"I'm sure Taylor would be ecstatic to hear this." He smoothly replied. Her eyes blazed in anger.

"You're so full of yourself."

"I'm in a house surrounded by females who want me, including you." He pointed out slyly. "Why wouldn't I be full of myself?"

"I don't want you, nor have I ever." She growled. "I know you, remember? I know exactly the kind of asshole you are." The smirk disappeared off his face at her insult.

"Yet here you are. For all the useless noise coming out of your mouth, you have yet to explain your presence here." He challenged.

"I'm here to pay for some sin I committed." She said dryly. "Rather, I think I'm here to pay for all the sins I have committed because surely this is hell."

"Always so dramatic." He said. "And shamelessly avoiding the question."

'Dammit.' She swore inwardly. He was persistent. What should she tell him? This was why she wanted to avoid him tonight. She needed to know how to deal with his attitude.

"I'm waiting." He said, tapping his foot pointedly. Ooh he was so frustrating. Damn Mokuba for placing her in this situation. Damn him.

"I'm here because your weasel of a brother tricked me." She said through clenched teeth. She watched his eyes widen ever so slightly in surprise but in a nanosecond, they were back to normal. If she hadn't known him for years, she would have missed it. But after having dealt with colourful psychos in the past, Kaiba included, she had learnt to pay close attention to them to decipher their emotions.

"Tricked by an eighteen year old. Tch Tch." He said, shaking his head in pity at her. "How sad. I would have thought that the passing of years would have brought your IQ to at least the same level as a dolphin but it was too much to hope for."

"And I would have thought that the passing of years would have loosened the stick lodged up your ass to turn you into less of an eye sore but it was too much to hope for." She saw his eyes narrow, orbs turning to ice and she knew a scathing retort was coming her way but she wouldn't let him. It was her turn to attack.

"Tell me Kaiba, why are you here?" She asked with a predatory smirk. His jaw clenched at her question and her smirk widened.

"Don't tell me the great Seto Kaiba also got tricked by an eighteen year old?" She teased.

"Don't put me in the same league as yourself." He scoffed. "I'm here to help Mokuba, my younger brother, whom I love." She actually laughed out loud at his proclamation.

"I can feel the love oozing out of your words. Like I said before, I know you." She said with glinting eyes. "And I know that unless you were tied like a trussed turkey and thrown here, you won't be here." He narrowed his eyes in anger at her but she continued on. "It makes me wonder, what did Mokuba have on you to force you to be here? It must be big and juicy."

"Delude yourself all you want." He said in a neutral tone, hoping to get his indifference across. "I have stated my reasons to be here. I want to support and help my brother, and if it requires me being in slightly unwanted situations, then I'll gladly do it because I love my brother."

"Trying to convince me or yourself?" She asked. "You are really trying to hammer this point home but you have never cared about anyone's opinion before, no matter how true or wrong it was. The fact that you are now trying very hard to convince me otherwise makes me believe I'm at least close to the truth." He didn't want to admit it but she had deduced correctly. Perhaps she had gotten smarter with age.

"Of course." He responded with a roll of his eyes. "I'm obviously wasting effort trying to fool the genius who was tricked by a teenager to come to an undisclosed location for weeks. No wonder you need to get rescued so often. You are so gullible." He pinned her with a gaze. "Or perhaps my first guess was true. You are a fan."

"I trusted your brother but obviously that was a mistake I won't be making again." She grumbled. "And if I had any knowledge of your involvement, I would have refused. Even Pegasus is a better option than you."

"What?" He nearly yelled in shock. "That thing... You would date him?"

"At least he is a man of good taste. He would wine and dine me, and I would probably get a present or two out of him too." A look of absolute disgust appeared on his face and she relished in joy.

"I think I'm paying for all _my_ sins because this is my hell." He muttered.

"Umm, Mr. Kaiba, you know her?" One girl finally asked. Seto turned to the group of girls and frowned.

"Unfortunately yes." He replied. "She has been a thorn at my side for years and has come back to cause me grief." Some of the girls shot angry glares in her direction.

"You girls will see soon enough that Kaiba is a liar. He is the real cause of grief to me and many others." Tea said.

"Fortunately, we won't have to deal with her presence for long." Seto continued to speak to the girls, ignoring Tea. "I'll rid us of her annoying presence at the first opportunity." From the corner of his eyes, he glanced at Tea. "And since she has no interest in me, it will be a favor to her as well."

"Go right ahead." Tea challenged. "Throw me out of the house. The first thing I'll do is go to Mokuba and find out what he used to blackmail you. He promised me a favor, _any_ favor, for lying to me and I think this will be a good return." Seto shot her a nasty glare and turned back to the girls. Time to get the show on the road.

"Let's have a seat and you girls can tell me about yourself." He said, as was required of him per the script. The girls hastily took seats, trying to be near him. He ended up being stuck between two girls.

"My name is Melinda." The lone red-head said. She had tiny freckles decorating her nose and bright green eyes. "I am a public relations firm manager. I like going to the movies, going clubbing, dancing etc. I love to be surrounded by people." She seemed cheerful enough to be able to deal with people. Seto nodded politely at her.

"I'm Elaine." A blonde said in a somewhat haughty tone. "I'm a model as you can tell." She winked flirtatiously in his direction. And he _could_ tell. She had the body for it, all bones and angles. "I like horse-back riding, playing tennis, swimming in the tropical waters of beautiful islands, and shopping." And so the introductions continued. The last one to speak was Serenity. She had selected a seat farthest from him, but he recognized her as Joey's sister right away.

"I'm Serenity." She started in a timid tone. "I am an elementary school teacher. I like reading, umm, watching movies, umm... and watching duels." She finished with an embarrassed blush.

"I see." Seto all but sneered at Serenity. He was about to speak again when Tea interrupted him.

"It's time for my introduction." She said and he glared openly at her.

"I don't want to or care to hear anything about you so don't bother."

"I'm not doing it for you." She replied heatedly. "This show is going to be broadcasted and many other guys, much better than you, will see it. I am doing it for them." She finished with a smile and turned to face the girls. "I'm Tea Gardner. I'm a ballerina. I live and work in New York city. I like reading, hanging out with my friends, trying out different foods and things, and of course dancing."

"You're an actual ballerina?" One girl, Cathy, asked with wide eyes. "Wow, I've never met a ballerina before. It's such a unique and difficult profession." Tea nodded with a smile.

"Yes it is. It requires a strong commitment from a very early age, and actual blood, sweat and tears, but to those who love it, it is well worth it. I wouldn't trade it for any other easy career in the world."

"It's a short career from what I understand." Elaine said nastily. "A few years and you are over. A better version of you comes along and your career is done."

"The same can be said about modelling." Tea pointed out.

"Not for good ones." Elaine said with arrogance.

"Then you should worry and prepare for an alternative career soon." Tea retorted back.

"Okay, maybe we should talk about something else." Cathy said, trying to keep the peace, but Seto was having fun.

"Elaine is right." He said, earning a brilliant smile from Elaine and a glare from Tea. "You do have a very short career, after which you will be reduced to dancing for rich men, like me." Tea's jaw clenched visibly.

"I think you are mistaking me with your usual company. After all, that is the only you can get a women. Maybe that is why Mokuba forced you to be here. He felt sorry for his pathetic older brother, doomed to be alone." She knew she was being very mean, but she was angry. How dare he say that about her?

"I see I have hit a nerve." He said, not at all bothered by her comments. She knew what he was doing. He would act nonchalant and mercilessly tease her now that he knew this was a sensitive topic for her. Her only option was retreat. She would regroup and attack him when she had the advantage.

"You're just being your usual arrogant self. I am tired and angry at your brother, and not at all in the mood to deal with you. I'm going to call it a night. I'll let the others stroke your ego as you so want it." With that, she stood up and quickly walked to where her suitcase was. She grabbed it and eyed the grand staircase. She would have liked to make a quick and dramatic exit, ending with her head held high as she closed the door on him. But fate had a sick sense of humor. So now she had to drag the heavy suitcase up the many stairs, huffing and puffing, looking like a beet from exertion, all in front of Seto Kaiba, who would not only enjoy her misery but add caustic comments along the way.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the suitcase and began hauling it up the stairs, fully aware that the eyes of every single person in the room were on her. At least the stairs were carpeted so she didn't have to worry about her or the suitcase slipping. When she had reached the halfway point, after a lot of tugging and pulling, Seto spoke in an amused voice. She was surprised and impressed that he had held out for so long.

"There is an elevator in this mansion that you could have used." She froze.

"What?" She spat venomously in his direction. He responded with an unnaturally cheerful face and pointed to a set of doors under the staircase.

"I knew it would be difficult to take the heavy suitcases up the stairs to the bedrooms so I requested for a mansion with an elevator to make it easy for the contestants." The other girls tittered in admiration at his thoughtfulness and his smile turned into a smirk. Tea wanted to rip out her hair in frustration. More than that, she wanted to throw her suitcase at Seto and watch him be crushed by it. He knew all along but waited till she got to the halfway point purely for his sick enjoyment. She shot him a final nasty look before grabbing the suitcase tightly and continuing up the stairs. He watched her until she reached the top. She then released a deep breath, bestowed Seto with an obscene hand gesture, and quickly walked down the hallway with the bedrooms, selecting the one she liked best.

Seto suppressed a grin as he watched her disappear from his sight. As soon as his attention wasn't on Tea, the girls surrounding him began talking to him. He tried to be interested but the conversation couldn't match the exchange he had with Tea, and soon her grew bored. He valiantly tried to appear calm and polite, but after only half hour of mindless chatter, he was at the end of his patience. He knew he had to end the night now or he would lose his composure and snap before the whole viewing world. Very cunningly, he expressed his concern at their travel-weary states and his desire that they be well rested for the first challenge tomorrow. As he had predicted, the girls all but melted at his kindness.

'Fools.' He thought. 'This will be easier than I thought.' He quickly said good bye to the group and hurriedly walked away from them to his own bedroom. He had mercifully been given a room in another hall than the girls. He entered his room, locked the door, and pressed a button that connected him to Mokuba. That had been his condition. If he was going to participate in this show, then he needed to have first-person, immediate access to Mokuba at all times in case he needed to talk or vent. And right now was a perfect occasion to talk to his scheming little brother. He only had to wait for a few seconds before Mokuba's face appeared on a medium sized TV screen.

"Hey Seto, how was the first meeting?" Mokuba asked with twinkling eyes.

"You know damn well how it was." Seto growled. He knew Mokuba and the crew had watched the entire debacle live, and enjoyed it too by the look on Mokuba's face. "What are you playing at?"

"What do you mean?" Mokuba asked innocently.

"Why is Gardner here?" He asked plainly.

"I thought she would be good for the show." Mokuba replied and Seto rolled his eyes. He wondered if Mokuba had lost his mind. Good in terms of ratings, maybe. People would love to see him be insulted by a foul mouthed, uncivilized, excuse of a girl.

"You put her there only to antagonize me." Seto accused. "I suspected it before but this proves it. This show is just an excuse to torture me."

"Come on Seto, don't be dramatic." Mokuba said. "She is fun to be around. And she will be good for you too, in the mansion." Mokuba hastily added after the glare Seto shot him. "You can amuse yourself by teasing her like you always have done."

"Teasing?" Seto spat the word like it was poison. "I don't 'tease' her. I insult her." Teasing would imply a playfulness to their conversations and Seto refused to accept that.

"Sure." Mokuba said with a roll of his eyes.

"She is leaving." Seto declared and Mokuba's eyes widened.

"You can't do that." He nearly yelled in panic and Seto smirked.

"Oh but I can. I get to eliminate a girl at the end of every challenge and tomorrow is the first challenge. Gardner will be leaving tomorrow night."

"You're being unfair." Mokuba pointed out.

"I don't care." Seto shrugged carelessly.

"Come on Seto. At least give her a chance." Mokuba tried to reason.

"It's no wound to her. She wants to leave. She'll be happy I eliminated her first."

"And if she doesn't want to go, then?" Mokuba challenged. "Will you still kick her out first?"

"Of course." Seto replied without hesitation.

"Then everyone will see you as unreasonable, stubborn, and plain old mean." Mokuba said. "Whatever positive reputation you have will be gone with her. People love to judge and boy will they judge you if you are completely unfair to her as if you have an old grudge."

"This isn't going to convince me Mokuba because I don't care what others think of me. Try harder." Seto smirked and Mokuba sighed in frustration.

"She's going to come straight to me when she leaves the mansion. I promised her anything and if she asks me how I got you to agree to do this, I will tell her, or rather, show her." Mokuba threatened. Seto narrowed his eyes in hatred.

"You are no brother of mine." He said through clenched teeth and Mokuba smiled triumphantly.

"Don't take in as a complete negative." Mokuba tried to cheer his brother up. "She is someone you know. You will be able to predict her actions to some extent and can use that to your advantage. And who knows, she can even be your ally in the house, warn you against any plots by the other girls to get you alone with them."

"You have lost your mind." Seto said in disbelief. "Predicting her behaviour is like predicting the behaviour of a great white shark. It could very well ignore you and pass you or rip you to shreds, all without any stimulation. And she would never be an ally. She would instead try to plot against me and try to make me as miserable as she can. She will be the one I will have to watch out for more than anyone else. I hope you are happy. You have trapped me with a psycho." Mokuba laughed out loud at his brother's words.

"I bet she is saying the same. In any case, just be fair. Give her a chance. Treat her the same as the other girls and I guarantee you she will treat you nicely. That's just the kind of person she is. She gives as good as she gets." Seto grunted in response.

"All right big brother. Rest up. You've got a long and hopefully fun day tomorrow." Mokuba said with a wink. Seto responded with the same hand gesture Tea had shown him before turning off communication.

'So she gave as good as she got?' He thought. 'We will see about that.' At the very least, her presence would serve as a source of amusement for him.

* * *

Tea waited patiently, unpacking and settling into a spacious room. There were two queen-sized beds separated by their respective night stands. Opposite the beds was a giant dresser. On the side next to the door, there was a sizeable closet in which Tea was able to hang all her clothes, place her shoes and other things, and her suitcase, all with space left over for her roommate. The other side of the room had a large French-style window with an amazing view of the backyard of the mansion. Besides the window were two comfortable looking single sofas. She had chosen the bed by the window and now waited patiently for the girls to come upstairs. After she chose a roommate, she would explore the mansion more. Since there was no adjoining bathroom, she knew they would have to share. She wondered how many bathrooms were on this floor and if they would be enough for ten girls.

After only a short wait, she heard footsteps and voices. She quickly opened the door and watched a group of girls emerge from the elevator with their bags. One smiled at her, one openly frowned and one chose to ignore her. She returned each expression as she received it. The girls passed her and began looking into the other bedrooms. Tea smiled, inwardly glad that she had gotten to chose first.

After a few more minutes of wait, three more girls emerged with their suitcases. Serenity was in this group. Tea smiled at the group and quickly walked towards Serenity.

"Come on, I already chose a room for us." Serenity seemed a bit hesitant at first, but when the other girls began walking away from them, she sighed in defeat and followed Tea to their room. She had to admit it was a nice room. Since Tea's stuff was not scattered anywhere in sight, she figured the other girl must have already unpacked and settled in.

"You are very quick." Serenity commented, opening her suitcase. Tea let out a chuckled and plopped on her bed.

"I often travel with my dance company and do this a lot more than normal people. I consider myself a pro at packing and unpacking now." Serenity managed a small smile. "Do you need any help since I am a pro?" Tea offered with a easy smile. Serenity quickly declined. She wanted to unpack slowly and delay the impending conversation for as long as she could. She knew why Tea wanted to be her roommate, and she also knew and dreaded the questions she would soon ask. Better to put it off for a while longer and get herself prepared.

She slowly unpacked, carefully arranging and organizing everything, even though a small voice in her head said she might be leaving tomorrow. But she hoped it won't be so. Maybe Tea would be the first one to leave, considering the exchange she had with Seto Kaiba downstairs. When she had put away everything, including her suitcase, she turned to face Tea who had waited patiently and quietly.

"So..." Serenity began uncomfortably.

"You already know what I want to ask." Tea said plainly. "I want to know why you are here. You knew that Kaiba was the bachelor but you still wanted to be here, despite knowing him and his attitude towards Joey and the rest of our friends, including you. Why?" Serenity took a deep breath after hearing the question. She had pondered those questions before. She had expected their common friends to ask exactly what Tea had asked so she was somewhat prepared. She only hoped Tea would be convinced. It was critical that at least one of her friends believed her explanation, and lucky for her, Tea was the best one to have on your side. She would definitely convince Joey and the others, provided that Serenity could convince her first.

"It's true that I knew Kaiba was the bachelor." Serenity began. "I was completely surprised to receive an email from Mokuba. He told me about this project of his and asked if I would be interested in joining. I actually gave it a lot of thought before accepting." She paused to gauge Tea's reaction but found her to be patiently waiting for her to continue. So far so good.

"I know, just like you, that Kaiba and Joey don't get along." At this, Tea snorted but didn't say anything so Serenity continued. "Kaiba doesn't get along with Tristan, or Joey, or you. You guys have been with him since high school and have been interacting with him. He knows you guys. He acknowledges you guys in his own way. But I am nothing to him." Tea frowned and it appeared as if she would interrupt Serenity but didn't.

"I don't even think he recognizes me. Any why would he? I have never been introduced to him. I have never interacted with him, or had a conversation with him. During battle city, as far as he was concerned, I was a part of the background."

"That's not true." Tea finally said.

"Yes it is." Serenity countered back. "I am and have always been Joey's little sister. That's how I was introduced to you guys, and that somehow became my identity. Everywhere I go, that's what I am known as, Joey Wheeler's sister. Even amongst our group of friends, that is my identity. Yugi is the kind leader, Joey and Tristan are funny goofballs, you are the loyal and supportive friend, the voice of reason, Duke is the flirtatious but dependant friend, Mai is the confident and sexy duelist, and Bakura is the shy, mysterious friend. But what am I? Joey's sister. That's it." Serenity paused and let out a frustrated breath.

"Even when Mokuba emailed me, he called me Joey's sister. When he talked to me over the phone to confirm my participation, he didn't call me Serenity. He said, 'you're Joey's sister, right?' to confirm that he had the right person, because he didn't even know me. I knew that if he wasn't aware of my existence, why would Kaiba be?"

"So you joined to be acknowledged?" Tea asked.

"To stand as myself." Serenity replied. "Maybe Kaiba would have judged me negatively as Joey's sister had he paid any attention. But he wouldn't pay any attention to me if Joey or the other's were around. This is my opportunity to be myself in front of Kaiba, to show him that I'm a good person. I am not here to claim his love like the other girls. I'm here to get him to realize that he can't dismiss me based on my association with someone he doesn't get along with. And I hope that I can show him that I am a different person than my brother. And who knows, this might even improve his view of Joey." Serenity finished with a small smile. Tea didn't speak for a few moments. She just stared at Serenity, making Serenity shift uncomfortably on the bed. Finally she broke her gaze and sighed in defeat.

"That is a noble and ambitious goal, one that can't be accomplished in this situation or the given time frame." Tea said. "Kaiba is no fool. He definitely knows you even if he has chosen to ignore you thus far."

"Then I can definitely change his opinion of myself and Joey." Serenity said optimistically. Tea looked away.

"Again, that is a very difficult endeavor. Kaiba is stubborn to a fault. Once he forms an opinion, he refuses to change it even if the contrary evidence hits him in the face. He refuses to accept his mistake. I have known him and I can say this with certainty."

"At least I can try." Serenity said. Tea bit her lip worriedly.

"Sure you can. Just... be careful." Serenity beamed at Tea's approval. To her, it appeared that Tea had accepted her reasoning and was on her side now. She would surely deal with Joey and the others when the time came.

"Thanks Tea." Serenity said, moving towards Tea to hug her. "Your support means a lot to me. I am so worried about Joey's reaction. Hopefully, he will be as understanding as you."

"We can hope." Tea said. Serenity went back to the closet to pick out her pajamas. They both quickly got ready for bed and turned the lights off, preparing for the next day. Serenity was asleep in no time. The excitement and stress of the day had tired her out and she was lout like a log. Tea, on the other hand, laid awake. She replayed the conversation with Serenity in her mind. She was sympathetic towards Serenity's feelings. As she looked back, she did see that Seto had ignored her existence throughout Battle City. But Tea didn't see it as a negative or insult. Having had his attention for years, she sometimes wished for anonymity. Being acknowledged the way she and her friends were was not something to aim for. Still, she understood if Serenity was hurt at being cast aside as unimportant.

But was this really the best way to get into Kaiba's circle of acknowledged individuals? Perhaps. Serenity was away from the shadow of her brother. Maybe Seto was neutral towards her and because he would be forced to pay attention to her, he might learn that she was a nice and sweet girl, completely different from Joey.

Or he could use her to try to hurt Joey. That's what she was afraid of the most. He was low enough to do it. And he wasn't happy to be here. He would only get more annoyed and frustrated as the days go along and he is subjected to unwanted situations. He will try to vent out his frustration through any outlet that presents itself, and Serenity might be a pretty good one. He knows Joey will be angry when he sees this show and sees Serenity trying to vie for his affections. Seto will use it to his advantage. He will play her to annoy Joey. He will keep her in the mansion for his amusement, perhaps giving her false hope that he likes her. In the end, in true Kaiba fashion, he would insult her and reject her. He would leave her hurt and humiliated. And worse of all, this would be captured on camera to be played out in front of the world later. Serenity won't be able to ever forget it, and neither will Joey.

As much as Tea hated to admit it, she had to stay in the mansion to protect Serenity. She had to watch out for her and keep an eye on Seto. Her presence might draw all of his frustration and she would gladly receive it. She had taken it and worse in the past. It won't bother her. But Serenity had never been on the receiving end of his jabs. The man had an affinity to find the things that bothered his opponent and he used them to stab a hole in the other person's very soul. Tea didn't want Serenity to be his target. Instead, she would draw his ire. At least she would return his jabs, unlike Serenity. Besides, Joey would want that. If he couldn't be here personally to watch over his sister and protect her from Seto Kaiba, he would want Tea to do it, especially since she had the opportunity to do so.

She hoped her career and reputation would survive this. She wasn't too worried since any publicity in America was good publicity. Besides, she doubted anyone in America would even see the show.

Tea sighed and closed her eyes in tiredness. This was not what she had signed up for.

Damn Mokuba. He will definitely pay.

...

* * *

List of girls who are contestants on The Bachelor:

Melinda: 25 years old. Public relations firm manager. Long flowing red hair, lightly freckled skin. 5'2

Elaine: 23 years old. Model. Long, platinum blonde hair and perfectly tanned skin. 5'7

Cathy: 26 years old. Director of an NGO in Domino. Medium length curly brunette hair. 5'6

Eiza: 25 years old. Lawyer. Medium length wavy black hair. 5'5

Bridget: 24 years old. Veterinarian. Pixie cut dark blonde hair. 5'0

Serenity: 22 years old. Elementary school teacher. Long auburn hair. 5'1

Rhea: 25 years old. Editor of Domino's top fashion magazine. Layered black hair with purple highlights. 5'6

Jacqueline: 24 years old. Owner and main designer of Domino's upscale boutique. Orange coloured hair in a bob hair cut. 5'4

Norah: 26 years old. Professor and researcher at Domino University. Light brownish blonde hair. 5'3

Tea: 24 years old. Ballerina. Medium length brunette hair with bangs. 5'5

Seto Kaiba is 25 years old.

...

...

...

* * *

Thank you for your comments on the first chapter. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Please continue to review and let me know what you think of the story so far, and of any ideas you might have.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or The Bachelor

"Talk"

'Thoughts'

_Dreams/flashback_

* * *

...

...

...

"Tea? Tea, wake up." Tea grumbled and rolled over, snuggling deeper into the comfortable sheets. Whoever was bothering her didn't know she wasn't a morning person. This was her vacation dammit. She wanted to sleep in.

"Tea, you are already late for the competition. Do you want to miss it entirely?" The voice said in exasperation. Something clicked in her sleepy mind. Competition? Dance competition? No, she was on vacation. This was some other competition.

"What?" She mumbled sleepily and opened bleary eyes to stare at Serenity.

"Today is the first challenge and you are already late. Didn't you set your alarm?" Tea just gave her a blank stare. She still wasn't fully awake. Serenity let out a frustrated growl and began marching out of the room.

"If you don't want to forfeit the challenge, then get up and get down to the kitchen. You only have a few minutes left before Kaiba comes down." With that, the young girl walked out of the bedroom they shared. Tea sighed and fell back on the bed. Slowly, her mind woke and she remembered where she was and what she was doing here. Not surprisingly, the first thought in her head, after realizing her situation, was the promise to make Mokuba suffer. But that would have to wait. She had a challenge to participate in right now. And if she wanted to stay in the mansion to keep an eye on Serenity and Seto, then she would have to put in some effort... minimal effort.

She stretched and then got out of the bedroom. She had to find a bathroom. She stared at the many doors in the hall. Making her choice, she opened a door and voila, it was a bathroom. She spent a few seconds marveling at its size and beauty. If she had time, she would have definitely tried the large bathtub but right now, she had to get down to the join the other girls and fast. She quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face. No time for makeup or doing her hair. She grabbed a hair band and tied her hair in a loose ponytail, letting her bangs hang over her forehead. When marginally satisfied with her appearance, she walked down the stairs to join the other girls.

They were all crowded in the kitchen. Did the challenge have something to do with it? She had no idea. She wondered if the instructions for the challenge were delivered via the TV screen and because she had slept in, she had missed it. She frowned as she thought about it. She specifically remembered setting her alarm last night. She had set it to ring ten minutes after Serenity's alarm. Then what had happened? How did she not hear it? She was used to waking up at the first sound of the alarm, but what happened this morning? In her hurry to join the other girls in the challenge, she hadn't even checked. Well, no use crying over spilt milk. Right now she had to find out what she was supposed to do.

The other girls turned to stare at her when she entered, some eyeing her with mocking smiles. She figured the stares were directed at her appearance. Everyone else was dressed in nice dresses and clothes, make-up and hair done. And she stood in her baby blue pajama bottoms and a spaghetti strap top, sans makeup.

"Finally woke up sleeping beauty?" Rhea asked with a smirk. Tea ignored her and instead went to Serenity.

"Thanks for waking me. I don't know what happened to my alarm. I swear I set it last night."

"No problem." Serenity answered with a smile.

"So, what's the challenge? What are we supposed to do?" She asked as she glanced around the kitchen. She was greeted by the sight of various breakfast dishes that decorated the kitchen island.

"We are supposed to make breakfast for Kaiba." Serenity said. "Whoever makes his favorite will win this challenge. They will have some kind of advantage in the next challenge which is an elimination challenge."

"Hmm." Tea said. "Okay. Thanks for letting me know." She again looked at the array of breakfast dishes and smiled.

"You guys have been busy." She commented.

"Of course." Cathy said. "This is the first challenge. We all want to have a good impression on Mr. Kaiba."

"Good luck with that." She said and began rummaging through the cupboards.

"Don't bother trying. It's too late now." Elaine said cheerfully. "Kaiba will be here any minute. You can't make anything for him in such a short span of time."

"I won't bother making him anything even if I had time." Tea replied, still opening kitchen cupboards. Her eyes caught sight of a cereal box and she grabbed it. Walking calmly to the fridge, she grabbed the carton of milk and then grabbed a bowl. The other girls watched in confusion and amazement, some snickering.

"That is what you are going to give him?" Jacqueline said with a laugh. "Cereal? For all your claims of knowing him better than us, you don't know him at all."

"Why is that?" Tea asked carelessly, placing the milk in the bowl and putting it in the microwave to heat it gently.

"He doesn't eat cereal in the morning." Jacqueline said plainly.

"How do you know?" Tea asked, still very uncaring and unconcerned.

"Because I have bothered to do my research." Jacqueline snapped, annoyed at Tea's calm attitude. "We all have."

"Really?" Tea said with fake surprise. "How? Is there a Kaiba-encyclopedia?"

"I have his biography." Jacqueline declared. Tea's eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"Are you serious? Let me see." She said in disbelief. Jacqueline smirked at Tea's expression and showed a hardcover book with Seto's picture on it. In the picture, he had a half-smirk on his face. She nearly choked on her own saliva, trying to contain her laughter.

"You have to be kidding me." She said with glee and moved closer to have a better look. Right there on the cover, it was written, the unofficial biography of Seto Kaiba.

"Now do you see how I know what he likes and dislikes." Jacqueline declared and Tea tried to suppress her laughter.

"Oh I do see. So what did you make him?" She asked curiously.

"French crêpes."

"He doesn't like crêpes in the morning." Bridget said. "He prefers cheese croissants. I have his updated biography." She held up another book with a different picture of Seto. Tea's eyes sparkled with glee.

"You're both wrong. He like to have a vegetable omelette." Eiza said. Tea noticed she had a different colored book, perhaps another 'unofficial biography'.

"My book says he likes to have Belgian waffles." Cathy said, holding up another biography. That's when Tea noticed that every girl had a book with her, including Serenity. She walked over to Serenity and grabbed her book, reading the page she was on. It listed three recipes as Seto's favorite breakfast foods. She figured it was the same with the other biographies as well.

"I see." She said with a wide smile. "I concede defeat to your preparedness." The other girls smiled in victory.

"You might as well take your sorry looking self and breakfast upstairs to save yourself the embarrassment. He won't even spare you a look." Elaine declared. Tea chuckled.

"Nah. I think I would rather stay and be embarrassed. I deserve it for coming in so illprepared. It will serve as a good lesson for me." Tea said with a grin. The other girls shot her annoyed and in some cases, confused looks and went back to their preparations. Tea hummed to herself, letting out a chuckle every now as then as she waited for the bachelor to come. She didn't have to wait long. The head of every girl swiveled in the direction of the kitchen entrance and Tea knew his highness had arrived. She perched herself on top of the counter beside the entrance so Seto won't be able to see her right away, unless he turned. She would first enjoy his reaction to the other girls.

* * *

Seto grumbled to himself as he walked towards the kitchen. He had been forced to wake up to cater to the needs of a group of fangirls, and he hated it. Despite what the others believed, Seto was not a morning person. He was disciplined enough to wake up early every morning and go to Kaiba Corp. but by no means did he enjoy it. No. If possible, he prefered to stay in bed until late morning, sometime early afternoon. In fact, his house staff knew not to bother him on the weekends until late afternoon unless he specified otherwise. On the weekends, he woke up when he wanted to. But now, he had been forced out of bed, not for Kaiba Corp. but for a group of girls who were definitely not worth sacrificing sleep over. He was annoyed.

As he neared the kitchen, his nostrils were assaulted by a blend of sweet and salty flavor scents. He mentally shuddered at what he would find. He was aware of the challenge. Mokuba had personally informed him of it, after rudely waking him up and then staying on the communicator screen to make sure he dressed well and went down to the girls. He really hated Mokuba right now.

He could see the eager expression on the faces of the girls. Unconsciously, his eyes roamed the kitchen, looking for the fiery brunette he loved to 'tease' as Mokuba had put it. He couldn't see her. He wondered where she was, if she was still sleeping, or not joining the challenge as some form of protest.

"Good morning Mr. Kaiba." Melinda said enthusiastically. Immediately, Seto decided he didn't like her. She was too perky for his liking, especially so damn early in the morning. Well technically, it was 10:00am so it wasn't so early. But his mind kept screaming that he could have been in his bed, sleeping peacefully, instead of forfeiting his stomach and health to the mercy of these crazy fangirls. He wondered if he could tell by just looking which dishes were poisoned, or at the very least, diarrhea inducing.

"Morning ladies." He replied in as pleasant a tone as he could. He was a master of his emotions. He had kept his calm facade on in more annoying situations. This should be a piece of cake.

"I see you are all set for the challenge." He commented, casually glancing at the spread of breakfast dishes on the kitchen island. "Except one. Where is Gardner?" The question was directed at Serenity who blushed under his gaze. Before she could answer, a voice spoke from behind him.

"I'm here too Kaiba." He turned to meet the amused face of Tea. "Missing me already?" She teased. He scowled at her.

"Your stupidity is hard to ignore and so it's absence is very noticeable."

"So you _did_ miss me." She said without missing a beat. He rolled his eyes at her response.

"I see you are dressed to impress." He said, eyeing her up and down. He had noticed her contrasting appearance to the other girls. They were dressed and ready for TV, whereas she literally looked like she had just woken up, rolled out of bed, and was now sitting in her personal kitchen, completely uncaring of the fact that millions would be watching her and comparing her to the other girls. Was she confident or just stupid? But as he continued to eye her, he realized she looked quite attractive in her casual getup.

"I tried my hardest. Only the best for you." She replied with a wink and he scowled at her again.

"If that is your best, then you are sadder than I thought." He said, eyeing her in pity. She frowned at his expression, eye lighting up with indignation. Her cheeks attained a healthy pink glow, and her eyes shone brightly without the aid of mascara to highlight them. She truly didn't need any makeup.

"I slept in. My alarm didn't work for some reason so I had no time to pretty myself up."

"No amount of time is enough for you to pretty yourself up Gardner." He said with a smirk, enjoying the narrowing of her eyes in anger. "I guess you didn't have time to prepare anything for the challenge either then. Too bad. I expected you to at least make an effort but I was wrong. You are no longer the fighter you claimed to be."

"Don't count me out just yet." She said with a mysterious smile. "I am very much in this challenge."

"Really?" He said with a raised eyebrow. "I don't see you with any food item. Did you prepare make-believe food, like the many other things you pretend are real?" He mocked. "Because I am not as gullible as you or your friends." She almost growled at his barb. She knew he was referring to her belief in Atem and ancient Egypt. Even though he had been there with them and had seen everything, he still refused to accept it. He was stupidly stubborn.

"It's as real as your attitude problem." She replied smugly and took out the box of cereal from behind her. His eyes narrowed as hers lit up in triumph.

"Mr. Kaiba, ignore her and her stupid cereal." Eiza said, trying to get his attention. "I have prepared your favorite." Tea shot him a wide smile. He glared at her before turning to the other girls with a neutral expression.

"Tell me who has made which food item, and I will decide what I will eat." He said. The girls quickly arranged themselves to stand besides their dish. He looked at all the food items, eyeing them in contemplation. He really wanted to pick something from the selection and eat it. He honestly did. But like an itch in his brain that he couldn't scratch, a voice kept saying he would have his cereal. He would be damned if he didn't have the cereal. The sweet and salty smell of food before him began to make him nauseous. He quickly turned to a smirking Tea.

"Is the cereal your breakfast item?" He asked, already knowing that it must be. What else did she have?

"Yes." She replied.

"Fine." He said through clenched teeth. "I want the cereal." Behind him, the girls gasped in surprise and shock but he could care less. He wanted the damn cereal.

"You don't want to try the amazing foods the others made?" She asked coyly. He knew she was trying to annoy the other girls more than him. Something must have happened between them. Perhaps they had teased her about being late and unprepared, or mocked her appearance and choice of food. Either way, Tea was now shoving her victory in their faces. The girl wasn't as goody goody as he had pegged her to be.

"I don't like to repeat myself." He growled. Why did she have the cereal? Was it a coincidence that she had found it? Or did she know?

"I think you should at least try what the other girls made. They spent a lot of time and effort making it for you. The least you can do is taste it." She said. He glared at her before swiftly turning and opening the cupboard with the cereals. There was a collection there, but the box he wanted was missing. Because she had it. This confirmed his belief. She must have known he liked that particular cereal. What other explanation was there? What were the odds that she would pick the one box he liked out of the many that were present? Her obvious confidence also solidified his belief that she knew. The question was how? Did Mokuba tell her?

"Give me the cereal." He said, turning to Tea again. She smirked, much like him.

"I will, after you try at least three dishes the others made." How dare she? He growled in his mind. How dare she order him around? Who did she think she was? With a menacing look on his face, he took a step towards her. She jumped off the counter with the cereal box clutched to her chest and went around the kitchen island, away from him.

"I swear I will give you the cereal if you do what I say." She said.

"And if I don't?" He challenged.

"I dump this cereal into the garbage or put it under the sink faucet and let it soak in water, whichever is convenient." He eyed her long and hard. She kept his gaze. He knew she would do it if he pushed her to it. She won't be bullied. With a look of absolute loathing, he turned to the other girls. Without paying any attention to the girls, he grabbed a fork and took a bite of an omelette, a pancake, and a quiche. He then lifted his head to stare at Tea who was now smiling in victory. With a definite skip in her step, she walked to the same counter she had been sitting on earlier, opened the cereal box and poured a generous amount into an awaiting bowl before bringing the bowl to him. He glared at her before taking the bowl. As soon as he touched it, he realized that the bowl and hence the milk was lukewarm. His glare was replaced with a surprised expression but she only smiled brightly and walked back to the counter to pour herself the same cereal and eat. She definitely knew, and he really wanted to know how.

The rest of the breakfast passed in tense silence. It didn't take a genius to realize that the other girls were angry at Tea. He smiled inwardly. At least her stunt had turned her into a pariah. The other girls would surely ostracize Miss friendship now. Wouldn't that be great.

After everyone was finished, they walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. The giant TV screen lit up and Mokuba's face appeared.

"Congratulations on finishing the first challenge ladies." He said cheerfully. "Seto appreciates your effort and hard work." Seto did his hardest not to scoff loudly.

"And now, it's time to declare the winner of the first challenge. So Seto, if you will please." Mokuba said. Seto sighed. He didn't want to do this. He really didn't. But he had no choice. He only ate the cereal. Had he eaten any other food, he could have declared that as the winner, but damn his stubborn nature and habit.

"The winner is Gardner." He said, adding 'unfortunately' in his mind. Tea smiled in glee.

"Really?" She said with fake joy. "It's such a surprise. I wasn't expecting this at all. What do I win? What do I win?" She bounced with exaggerated excitement. Seto tried hard not to tackle her. She was purposefully annoying him to no end.

"Congratulations Tea. The rest of the day is devoted to the elimination challenge." Mokuba spoke. "The elimination challenge is very simple and basic. Each girl will get half an hour to spend with the bachelor. During the half hour, they can do whatever they want. This challenge is to mimic a first date. So girls, keep that in mind. Do what you would do on a first date. Talk to the bachelor, get to know him and tell him about yourself. At the end of the day, the bachelor will decide which girl he can't get along with and she will be eliminated tonight." The girls exchanged nervous glances.

"You can chose a location for your date. During your time slot, the other girls will not be allowed to be in the same area so you and the bachelor can have some privacy." He then turned his eyes to Tea. "Tea, as the winner of the challenge, you decide when you want to go, if you want to be the first, second, last etc."

"I want to be the last." She said without hesitation. The longer she could avoid him, the better, especially after the morning baiting. He would want to get her back. Maybe by the end of the day, he would be tired and his anger at her would fade. The other girls would annoy him and he would forget about her. Or, he would use the entire day to plan an elaborate revenge and the others presence would only annoy him and anger him more, thus making it necessary for him to use her as an outlet. With her luck, it would be the latter.

"Very well." Mokuba said. "The rest of you, please grab the box placed on top of the mantle. There are numbers 1-9 in there. Draw a number and that will be the order of your turn. Then select the location of your date and prepare for it. You can say the location of your date out loud for us to record, and when it's your turn, I will inform the bachelor. He will meet you at the location at the right time. The dates will start at 12:00pm. At 2:00pm, there will be an hour break for lunch. The dates will resume at 3:00pm. At the end of the last date, everyone should come to this living room. The bachelor will then hand out roses to the girls who will continue on in the competition and sadly, one of you will be leaving. Good luck." With that, the screen went blank. The girls quickly went to grab the box above the mantle and drew numbers. Tea noticed that during this fiasco, Seto had disappeared to God knows where.

She walked towards the girls and stood beside Serenity.

"What number did you get?"

"Six." Serenity said. "I don't know where to have the date though."

"I haven't explored the mansion yet. Do you want to come with me? We can see what this place has and you can decide where you want to meet Kaiba." Serenity nodded her head in agreement.

"Anyone else want to join us?" Tea said to the other girls.

"We already explored the mansion. Unlike you, we are serious about this opportunity. We prepare in advance." Eiza said. Tea smiled sweetly at her in return.

"I just saw how well prepared you are. I'll leave you to it then. Don't want to mess with your plans." Eiza growled in anger but Tea turned away from her.

"Let's go then." She grabbed Serenity's arm and began walking away from the living room when she heard footsteps. She turned and saw a few other girls were following her.

"I would like to join you guys, if it's okay?" Bridget said.

"Us too if you don't mind?" Cathy said, pointing to herself, Norah, and Melinda. Tea shot them a wide smile.

"Of course. It'll be fun as a big group."

"Yeah. The more the merrier." Melinda cheered. They began their tour, starting with the main floor. They found an indoor pool fitted with jumping boards and a slide, something Tea got very excited about, and a giant hot tub with seating for 12. The hot tub got the other girls excited and they all began tittering about getting Seto in there with them. Also on the main floor was a movie theatre with extremely comfortable seats, a gym equipped with everything a professional gym had, a large hall which probably served as a ball room, and entrance to the garage. The entrance was locked so the girls left it at that.

The first floor had their bedrooms and bathrooms, a terrace with an outdoor fireplace, another living room, and a game room/relaxing room of some sort. It had a row of arcade games lined against one wall. There was a pool table, a foosball table, a poker table, and a chess table complete with all the pieces. There was also a wide screen TV along with the latest game consoles and a medium sized shelf filled with video games. While the other girls gave the room a passing glance, Tea noted its location, vowing to come back and have a better look. This was her favorite room so far.

Also on the same floor was a huge library, the kind Tea had seen on her school campus at Juilliard. Rows upon rows of shelves filled with books met the eyes as far as she could see. As if in a trance, she walked inside. There must have been some thousand books in that large library, her mind supplied. The library itself was slightly dark considering the only light coming in was from large French-style windows.

"This is amazing." She whispered.

"I think I have decided where I want to have my date." Norah declared. "I love the terrace. It has a beautiful view of the backyard with the forest greenery. It will be very private and peaceful."

"No way. I want my date there too." Melinda said.

"Good thing we are an hour apart." Norah said with an easy smile and Melinda smiled back.

"I want to go to the backyard." Cathy said. The other girls nodded and they all went down the stairs and out into the spacious and well maintained backyard. There was another pool here. There was also a beautiful gazebo with expensive looking lawn furniture. There were tall trimmed hedges around the perimeter for privacy. Also lining the perimeter were flower plants and bushes. Artistic looking fountains were also located at various spots throughout the backyard. In one secluded corner, there was a beautifully crafted porch swing nestled between rose bushes. Cathy immediately gravitated towards it.

"This is so beautiful. I'll have my date here." She declared.

"I like the gazebo. It's more secure." Bridget said. "And I don't see Kaiba as the swinging type." She added with a wink. The other girls giggled at her implication. Tea turned to Serenity.

"Decide your spot yet?"

"I like the terrace, but Norah and Melinda have dates before me. If I also choose that spot, Kaiba will think I'm copying them." Serenity said.

"You can sit out here in the gazebo if you want. It's similar to the terrace. Plus, you are going before Bridget so you won't be the one copying the spot." Tea whispered and Serenity smiled gratefully.

"Where are you going to have your date?" Norah asked Tea who shrugged carelessly.

"In the living room. I don't really care about the location. Kaiba and I will fight no matter where we are. At least in a place like the living room, with the most number of cameras, any damage he does to me will be captured. And Mokuba can intervene if our argument gets too heated."

"You really think you guys will fight again?" Bridget asked.

"Yeah. That's what we do." Tea replied honestly. " We always exchange mean words and barbs when we interact."

"Why?" Melinda asked suddenly. Tea appeared thoughtful for a few moments, as if contemplating what to say.

"We have a history which is not really pleasant." She said, not willing to go into details. "We went to the same high school and were in the same classes, but my friends and I just never got along with Kaiba. We had some fundamental differences which never got resolved. We learnt to accept the other, and formed a somewhat tolerant relationship overtime, but that is putting it favorably."

"But you also know Mokuba Kaiba. How is that?" Norah asked.

"Kaiba and I also interacted outside of school on a few occasions. Mokuba was with him and I got to know him. I was actually good friends with Mokuba." She answered. "But after I went to USA to study dance, I didn't see Kaiba at all. I saw Mokuba a few years back when he came to New York for business but other than that, we didn't talk."

"You guys looked like you are still close. I mean, you threatened him on the first day." Norah said, not fully buying Tea's explanations. She knew there was more to their relationship than Tea was letting on.

"We are not." Tea assured her. "In the past, we spent some time together in situations that forced us to work together, and during that time, you can say we became good friends. But after high school, we drifted apart. Like I said, I didn't keep in touch with Mokuba even though I consider him a friend. I inquired about him from my friends who kept me updated on the Kaiba brothers, and Mokuba occasionally asked my friends about me, but that was the extent of our relationship or friendship over the last few years."

"Still, you seem very comfortable with Mokuba." Norah maintained. "You even argue with and challenge Kaiba, as if you are not intimidated by him at all."

"That's because I am not intimidated by Kaiba." Tea said. "I know him better than any other girl here. I had the misfortune, or fortune depending on how you look at it, to spend time with him. I got to know him inside and outside school. I have some understanding of him as a person. That's why I know how to push his buttons, just as he knows how to push mine."

"So you don't like him?" Bridget inquired.

"That's not entirely true." Tea admitted. "I don't dislike him. I know that he is a good person. He has a lot of qualities that I admire in a person, so by that extension, I admire him too. But Kaiba doesn't display those qualities frequently, so most of the time, I am annoyed with his less than positive attributes such as his ego and arrogance. But if you look past that, you can see that he is a decent person. On rare occasions, he has even been helpful, almost nice to my friends and I. But those were random occasions. Most of the time, he is an antagonizing jerk who never passes up an opportunity to insult us."

"How did you know he eats cereal in the morning?" Cathy asked.

"I've known him for years. You learn a few random things about the other person over such a long period of time." Tea said. She wasn't willing to tell them that she had seen him gobble that stuff up every morning on the Battle City Tournament blimp. That would lead to more questions and the revelation of her relationship with Yugi, Joey, and the other duelists. She didn't want the attention. Serenity hadn't mentioned anything about her relationship with Joey either.

"What do you think would be a good date for him?" Melinda asked eagerly.

"Honestly, I don't think Kaiba would ever date another person. He is probably asexual." Tea said with a chuckle, recalling the time Joey and Tristan had not only made this claim but had presented solid arguments to support it.

"But he is here now and he has to go on dates." Bridget said.

"Right." Tea agreed. She stared at the faces of the other girls. They all seemed interested in her opinion. For some reason, she had become a more trusted authority on Seto Kaiba than the unofficial biographies they had. This scared her.

"Listen guys, I don't know Kaiba in that that manner to say. But I do know that he doesn't like liars. He can spot a person who is pretending to be someone else, or hiding something from him, or lying to him. His job requires these skills and he has been trained too well for anyone to be able to fool him. So all I can say is don't lie to him. Just be yourself." She watched as the girls faces fell. They had expected her to share some specific secret and were disappointed at her words.

"I know this sounds incredibly clichéd, but it's true. Kaiba has serious trust issues. He doesn't trust anyone." She said. "So if he finds out that you told him a lie, even if it's a very small, insignificant one, he will get angry because he will take it as your attempt to trick him and make a fool of him. And he is very unforgiving once he makes up his mind against you. So be honest with him. Be yourself and see if you guys can get along. Even if you manage to pretend to be someone else, you can't keep up the act for the rest of your life, or even for the rest of this competition. Eventually, you will slip up and Kaiba will kick you out. And don't forget that Mokuba is watching everything. He has done background research on every single one of you. He will know right away if you lie, and Kaiba will learn about you from him." The girls seemed thoughtful at her words and Tea wondered if they thought she was hiding some crucial information about Kaiba from them.

"Or you guys can do what you want." She said. "I offered you my advice but you don't have to do what I suggest. You know yourself better than I do, and all of you have a perception of Kaiba that I don't think I can change with just my words. So go with your gut and do what you have already planned."

"Thanks for your advice anyway." Cathy said with an honest smile and Tea smiled back.

"Let us go back to the living room. The first date is about to start and it's Elaine. I wonder what she will do." Bridget said and they walked inside the mansion. They sat in the living room. Tea noticed that the girls weren't too talkative anymore. They all seemed to be lost in their own thoughts, Serenity included. Some of them didn't have their date for a few hours, so she wondered what they were thinking about. She had a nagging suspicion at least some of them were thinking about her and their conversation with her. She could feel the uncomfortable silence and it was suffocating.

"I'm going to go take a nap." She declared, getting up. The other girls looked up at her.

"I am not a morning person." She explained. "And besides, I have nothing to do for hours. I'd rather spend some of this time catching up on my sleep. I'll see you ladies later. Good luck on your dates if I don't see you before them." She then walked up the stairs to her bedroom. But before entering the bedroom, she secretly glanced at the group from the top of the stairs. As she had predicted, the girls were now conversing. She sighed in defeat and went to her room. She had tried to help them. She had told them the truth with good intention. But she couldn't make them believe her if they didn't want to. She was not responsible for them. Her only responsibility was Serenity.

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Hi guys, thanks for the wonderful reviews. I appreciate your nice comments. They encourage me to update :)

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter will have the elimination challenge so stay tuned.


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